1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a loose-leaf binder structure for containing removable pages and in particular relates to a loose-leaf binder structure in which binder rings are integrally formed with an elongated spine that is rigidly attached to and extends along the inner surface of an elongated back portion of a binder.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
There are many types of prior art binding devices that hold bound pages. Some of them are locking ring notebooks while others are spiral ring notebooks.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,114, there is described a modular binder ring comprising a flat disk-shaped central portion having a first axial width and an aperture disposed substantially in the center thereof. An annular outer rim is formed on the periphery of the central portion. The annular rim includes an arcuately-shaped outer surface which is configured as the outer segment of a circle. A plurality of loose-leaf paper sheets with die-cut recesses proximate an outer edge thereof attach to at least two of the binder rings. The die-cut recesses are configured to loosely fit on the annular outer rims of the binder rings.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,065, a loose-leaf binder structure is disclosed in which a pair of swingable covers and a back is provided with a plurality of spaced rings extending through openings in the cover for interlocking with a base element. A rib has a plurality of notches on the base and each ring includes a central web extending through the cover for receipt in a corresponding notch to the end web and rib. Thus the ring elements are secured to a base member through slots formed in the cover or back portion of the notebook so that the parts are releasably connected, thereby eliminating the need for conventional riveting or adhesive operations to secure the rings to the notebook binder.
In each of these cases, there is lacking a simple notebook having a binder with an elongated back portion with opposed longitudinal edges and a pair of cover portions hingedly attached to the longitudinal edges of the back portion for containing removable sheets of paper. It would be advantageous to have such a simple binder that could contain a plurality of removable sheets of paper.